Potential Contribution of Two Recent Eu Soft Law Documents to Improved Judicial Governance Standards

Judicial governance is a vital component of judicial independence, and yet its manifestations vary considerably across European countries. Judicial self-governance standards are articulated in a range of soft law instruments, and have prompted extensive academic debates. Starting from the premise that soft law is a relevant source of judicial independence and judicial governance standards, the author posits that two soft law instruments developed by the OSCE and the European Law Institute over the past two years enhance both the understanding and implementation of judicial independence standards by bringing added value. The hypothesis regarding the added value of the two instruments is examined through an analysis of the judicial governance and judicial self-governance concepts. Employing primarily comparative and dogmatic methods, the author demonstrates how these two instruments formulate judicial governance standards by systematising existing soft law norms and incorporating new academic developments.